


Whisps and Flames

by HickoryDox, PEDAwriter



Series: Burning Embers [1]
Category: Underfell - Fandom, Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Edgepuff, F/F, I'm still so incredibly new to this writing thing, M/M, Post-Undertale Pacifist Route - "I want to stay with you.", Will add tags as I go, kustard - Freeform, please be patient with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-06
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-06-22 19:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15588798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HickoryDox/pseuds/HickoryDox, https://archiveofourown.org/users/PEDAwriter/pseuds/PEDAwriter
Summary: Post-pacifist Undertale.Seven years.It has been seven years since the barrier was broken.Seven years since the last RESET, and the kid didn't seem to want to go back anytime soon.It has been seven long years, and Sans was starting to slowly peek through the impenetrable walls he've built around himself.For the first time since the very first RESET from what felt like eons ago, Sans finally felt like things were looking up, for once.Most of the human population had accepted them by now, the surface world had finally started to see them as equals instead of outcasts from a time long ago.He could now breath that much easier, knowing there were less threats to his brother's well-being.Life was great.Finally, the past could finally stay in the past, burried along with the secrets, at long last.Then the universe decided to flop him over and sent everything toppling down.Poor Sans could only hope to get through this with his SOUL intact.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This was an rp between HickoryDox and I. I'm just gonna post this here before I rewrite it since I'm gonna have to write it alone now. 
> 
> Since originally, she wrote Red's part while I did Sans', I'm gonna have to alter things a bit since my writing is just different from hers.

It was a beautiful day at Ebott Seashore Beach. 

The sun was shining.

The wind is blowing.

On days like these, guys like him...

Should really rethink his life choices.

Sans sighed, trying to relax for once as Papyrus charged towards the water. He was currently laying on a pink-and-orange blanket with wave designs, an umbrella over him to keep away the blinding sunlight.

To be honest, he'd really want nothing more than to stay at home and laze the day away. But here he was, on the beach. Trying to keep an eye on his exitable bro while keeping a carefree act.

Frisk wanted him to come to the beach. At first, it was only supposed to be just him, Toriel and the kid. He refused, of course; Papyrus was supposed to have a cooking lesson at the same day, and he wanted to watch his brother's back just in case. You can never know when to be weary with humans, so he just had to be vigilant at all times.

Sans shook his head. He was getting distracted.

He realized just then that he lost sight of Papyrus. He sat up, almost hitting his head on the umbrella, frantically looking around for sign of the other skeleton. He only calmed once he finally spotted his bro. 

The sweet cinamon roll was playing by the water, making sandcastles with the kiddo. Tori was sitting nearby, guarding a wicker basket filled to the brim with homemade food. She somehow managed to bring chairiel along, the oversized chair sinking into the sand. She had her own umbrella, much bigger than his, situated next to her, giving her shade as she kept an eye on the two playing innocents.

Sans gave a breath of relief, falling back down. He was tired; he didn't get much sleep last night cause of the night terrors.

He felt his eyes drifting shut, his tired bones sagging. Maybe he could enjoy this, just this once. Besides, there hasn't been a single sign of aggresion from the humans for a week-- if you don't count the blatant avoidance, of course.

Be fore he knew it, his eyes completely closed, darkness blowing him away into oblivion.

*Somewhere on the other side of Ebott Citty*

The famous mountain Ebott stood tall, lively greens decorating the surface, decorating the former prison of an undeserving race.

Silence reigned where the birds once sang in a loud orchestra.

The sight was a picture of stillness, where there is the usual bustle of nature, now there's not a single life in sight.

The wind stopped blowing, scented breeze held back in preperation for something more. Something big.

The calm before the storm.

Something shifted...

...and it all came crashing down.


	2. Chapter 1

The world had jerked around him, stuttering and shifting. For a moment everything had been darkness and noise and the jarring motion of the ground quaking beneath him. There were moments missing from his memory, distorted voices and the feeling of being one with the entire ******** underground, but when he was just him again, just Sans, it was like everything around him had exploded.

His body knocked hard against the cracking stone floor, pieces of the ceiling raining down around him. He curled into himself, trying to become the smallest target he could. Some of the stones coming down were large enough to crush him! Fear jolted through his body as his mind struggled to assemble the pieces of the puzzle that was his situation, but he felt like several pieces were missing and there was no way to even sort through the pieces he had when he had to focus on dodging the god damn ceiling.

Slowly, the chaos abated, until there was only the sound of small rocks clinking against the floor and thin motes of dirt hissing to the ground. In the distance he thought he heard a few more rumbles. Cave ins... Collapsing tunnels...

What had just happened?

Cautiously, he started to uncurl himself, the dim light of his eyes casting a red glow across the still settling dust. "B-boss?" He coughed, searching for some sign of his brother.

"Sans..." Came the growling response. He started to turn towards the voice before a red gloved fist caught at the front of his shirt and hauled him to look directly into glaring empty sockets. "What did you do?"

Sans sputtered, sweat beading on his skull as he waved his hands in a frantic denial. "Wh-wha- No! Wasn't me, Boss! I-I swear!" His voice cracked in his haste and fear. He had to wonder, though... /Had/ he done something? He was missing time. There were blanks in his memory. He wasn't even really sure how he'd ended up in this room. Hadn't they been in the barrier room just a moment ago? 

"My child!" The woman's voice cut through the moment, drawing the attention of both skeletons as the once estranged queen clambored across the rubble strewn ground. It reminded Sans that they weren't alone here. There had been others with them.

"My child, look at me! Look at me please!" Toriel crumbled to the ground, hands desperately grasping at a small body. Dirty brown hair fell over a bruised face. Sans made out a torn red and black striped sweater. His soul twisted. The kid... "Please, please! My child! Say something!" She shook them, clawed fingers digging into the small body perhaps a little harder than they should have. "No no no nonoNONONO NO!! Not another one! Please!" Her voice cracked, red tears staining her white fur as she started to rock the still child.

"Kid..." Sans rasped. Papyrus limply released him and he started to stumble towards the pair. Someone else beat him there.

"Tori..." The king laid a larg, tentative hand on the former queen's shoulder and she stiffened. Her body stuttered as she forced herself to turn. Her eyes bored into Asgore with such an intensity it was a wonder the king didn't fall to dust right then and there. He stumbled a step back.

"You...." She seethed. "You did this. You took them from me... Just like all of them! You took my baby from me!!" She roared and surged to her feet, child cradled in one arm as the other roared to life with flames. Asgore shifted into a defensive stance, blood red trident coming easily to his hand as if by reflex, even as his face fell and his teeth clenched. 

"M-mnn..." The voice was soft, barely aubible, but it caught everyone's attention. Toriel froze in place, her fire snuffing out as she looked down at the human she was holding. Asgore breathed a sigh of releif, dispelling his weapon. Sans saw Papyrus relax marginally and stand a little straighter out of the corner of his socket. And he himself let out a breathy little laugh as the human shifted and groaned raising their small hand to their head.

"My child!" Toriel wailed, collapsing to her knees as she buried her face against that ragged striped sweater.

"Jeez kid, don't scare us like that." Sans chuckled, stepping over to the pair.

A few feet away there was a roar as Undyne, second in comand of the royal guard, exploded from a pile of rubble. "NNGAAAAHHH!! Somebody tell me what just hit me so I can kick it's a**!!"

"Ugh... I th-think it was the mountain..." Alphys groaned sitting up from where she'd been sheilded beneathe Undyne. "I-I don't think you can technically k-kick it's a**..." A thin trickle of blood dripped from her nose, giving her voice a more nasal quality than it normally had. She absently reached to dab at it with the sleeve of her lab coat.

"Watch me!!" And with that declaration she started to storm down the ragged tunnel they all had found themselves in. She didn't get very far before she froze in her tracks. Sans had just stepped over to Toriel and the kid and was moving to kneel and check up on them when Undyne's voice drifted back to them.

"Hey uh... Guys?... Was-... Was this where the barrier was?..."

Was?

Sans' eye shot up at the words, everyone else turning abruptly to the fish woman a short distance away. Past her, they saw something incredible... Sunlight.

Toriel and Alphys both hauled themselves to their feet, the queen clutching the newly conscious human to her chest, and everyone rushed towards the end of the tunnel. What greeted them at the end was the most beautiful thing Sans had seen in hundreds of years. The sun. The sky. It was the surface. His sharp teeth parted in an incredulous little laugh, his eyes hungrily taking in every detail of the world he'd been closed off from for far, far too long. That /everyone/ had been denied for decades. /Centries/.

Then he turned and just next to them he saw a second mountain. Now... his memories were admittedly fuzzy given how long it had been since he'd last been out here... But he was pretty sure there had only ever been one mountain... And he was currently standing on it.

"Hey uh.... Kid?" He turned to the child who had also just caught sight of the abnormality, a sort of stiffness showing in their shoulders, giving away what Sans already knew. "Is that s'pose ta be there?"

The child slowly shook their head. No. 

What was going on?

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

It didn't feel like he slept for long when Sans have been awoken by a feeling of wrongness. 

He tensed up, every bone in his body suddenly stiff in preperation. For what, he does not know.

Slowly, he opened his eyesockets, trying not to make any sudden movements that may show his awareness to any watching danger. He looked around, searching for anything out of place. 

To his confusion, everything was exactly the same from when he drifted off earlier. There weren't any evidence of anything even vaguely threatening nearby. 

His gaze darted over to where Papyrus and Frisk were sitting on the sand, only to see that they, too, seemed to have felt something as they have stopped playing and had dropped their toys.

Like Sans, Toriel sensed something out of place and stood up, looking around in order to spot anything particularly suspicious nearby.

Finally, after a few moments of stillness, someone broke the tense atmosphere.

"UM, HUMAN? WHY IS EVERYTHING SUDDENLY SO QUIET? WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ENTHUSIASTIC SALTY BEACH WATER?"Papyrus asked, looking at Frisk in confusion."IS IT SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?"

The human shook their head, looking uneasy, and the younger skeleton's words finally registered in Sans' head.

Now that he mentioned it, the water was suddenly so calm, the waves so weak and soft. The water looked so unnaturally still, it looked more like a pond than a sea. And he now just noticed the unnerving silence that hung heavilly in the air. 

The wind that blew just a few minutes ago is suddenly nowhere to be found. 

The skies that were a fair bit cloudy earlier is now irregularly clear. And despite this, the sun that was beating down upon them with its intense heat was now oddly subdued and somehow dimmed.

The sudden hush bore down on his bones, choking his throat and making the air so stiffling to breath in.

Something shifted.

Then the panic set in.

Sans' SOUL was abruptly set on overdrive as a thousand rushing thoughts scattered throughout his skull. His eyelights contracted, smile unnervingly wide, taking an almost unhinged quality. Al he could think of was Papyrus--Papyrus, must get to Papyrus. Where is he!? Must find, must hide, must protect-- and before he knew it, he was on his feet, speeding towards his brother.

Papyrus has his back towards Sans, still sitting on the sand, looking uncharacteristically subdued. 

Whatever was happening, Sans reached him just before it arose.

Sans took hold of his brother's arm when suddenly, there was a deafening boom, the sound seemingly coming from the direction of the city. What followed was something he could never have predicted and sent them sprawling on the sand, Sans clinging to his brother as Papyrus held Frisk, trying to protect the child from something he doesn't know what. 

The ground shook so hard, it was impossible to remain standing. The trees shook, their bark creaking, threatening to give. From where they were, they could see all the buildings swaying precariously, glass breaking and concrete cracking as the shaking strained their very foundations. 

They could hear screams, of terror, of shock, and as quickly as it started, the quaking stopped, leaving everyone dazed on the ground.

For a moment, Sans thought it was over. He felt himself start to relax, then an even bigger feeling of wrongness hit him. He turned deathly still, eyelights contracting into unreadable dots. 

The feeling of something that wasn't there before, something that never was, but suddenly is. Something that doesn't belong. Something that wasn't supposed to be.

A new variable has been added, and the Universe's constant has been abruptly interupted.

A new set of codes, ones that has never before been exposed to this timeline nor any before it.

Sans didn't know what was going on or why. He didn't know what he just felt, didn't understand the churning emotions bubbling around in his SOUL.

Papyrus was the first to rise, taking Frisk with him as he sat up.

"WHAT WAS THAT, SANS? THAT HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE. WHAT IS GOING ON IN THIS STRANGE AND CONFUSING DAY?" Papyrus asked, looking utterly lost and disturbingly fearful.

"..."

Sans didn't answer. He didn't know what to say. He was just as confused as his brother were, if not even more so because of these troubling emotions buzzing in his chest.

Something has changed; for better or for worse does not matter, he knows it doesn't. It never really did. All he knows is that he will fight if he have to. Just like how he fought everyday since returning to the surface. Just like how he fought all those years ago in order to achieve his goals during the war.

Papyrus was confused, unbearably so, and might also be a smudge bit fearful after everything that transpired. And so, he decided to simply ask. He turned to Sans, confident that his question was about to be answered, but recieved only silence instead.

He stared at his brother, so much shorter than himself and yet, so much smarter. Sans always answered any question he asked, no matter how serious or how silly it may be. To recieve only silence after such inquiry from himself was troubling indeed.

"SANS?"He sofly called, concern lacing his voice. Silence, once more.

The taller skeleton only got more worried once he noticed the empty, unreadable look on his brother's face. He has never seen Sans like this before. He's seen him in his usual carefree, lazy, nonchalant, aloof, even in a kind of irrtatedly ignorant mood. Never before has he seen him completely blanked out like this. And with that smile on his face...

Papyrus shivered, dread finally too heavy to be ignored.

Just what exactly was happening?


	3. Chapter 2

Things got real hectic real fast after that. Before the dust had even really settled, there were helicopters in the sky stirring it up again. The small group at the summit had been collected and taken to the headquarters of the human town leaders. Things were tense, most humans eyeing them like they'd just crawled up out of hell and planned to eat their children. Frisk had been an absolute godsend. So had Papyrus, actually, given his newfound enthusiasm for the human world.

It was a shock to everyone to learn that there were already monsters on the surface. An even bigger shock when a softer, blonder version of their king walked into the room and awkwardly offered them tea... Turns out, there was a softer version of everyone here. It was like their whole mountain had been picked up and supplanted into a completely different universe. Their Alphys and the resident Alphys both jumped on the chance to investigate and figure out what had happened, though Sans had his own pet theory for the whole thing.

That weird flower that had followed Frisk through the underground for so long seemed to be missing now after all... Sans would bet good money the weed had something to do with this...

Now, a week later, things were still kind of tense. The fell monsters, as they'd taken to being called, were slowly making their way out of teh mountain, though, and integration was happening. It might have helped that the fell population seemed to be much smaller than that of the native universe. Sans and Papyrus set up with some temporary housing at the foot of their mountain along with many other monsters. It was a regular little tent city. Sure, they had a house underground, but the flimsy walls were a small price to pay in order to wake up under the actual sky. Plus it was nice to be able to get up at night and see the stars.

Today he'd decided to check out the resident Grillby's. His own home town bartender, Chillby, had opted to stay underground for now. Sans figured it had something to do with those who /couldn't/ come up top yet. Chillby had always tried to come off as a hard a**, but Sans knew a bleeding heart when he saw one. He wondered how Grillby compared.

Stepping into the bar, he took the place in. Warm. Inviting. And full of staring native verse monsters... It seemed like a few wanted to greet him, but paused at seeing his sharp teeth and red eyes. His grin inched upwards sharply as he narrowed his eyes at them. He wondered how many fell verse alternates these marshmallows had met so far.

Giving the Dogs' tables a wide berth, he approached the bar, amused to find Grillby was actually orange. he supposed it was a little more fitting for a flame than purple, but he couldn't help missing the smirking face of his closest friend.

"hey, hot stuff. how bout ya hit me up with a bottle a' mustard?" he hopped up on his usual stool and folded his arms on the bar. "and ******** it, how bout a burger too? Could use some meat on these bones." He chuckled, and he could actually feel the atmosphere lose some of its tenseness at the joke. There were still eyes on him, but a cursory glance around the bar showed them to be more curious than anything. The gazes still kept him on edge, but it was a bit relaxing to be out and not feel like someone was waiting for the right opportunity to shank him.

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

Sans sighed, sinking down into the couch as weariness weighted down his bones. He closed his eyes, thinking back to how much more peaceful it was a week before all this. He could hardly believed he even complained about the monotony of it all. Then again, this isn't exactly what he had in mind when he prayed for a change of pace.

One week ago, he was manipulated by his own brother to "take a load off" when he was invited on a day out by Frisk. Then they just had to practically kidnap his unwilling coccyx to get him to the beach. He was tired enough at the time to humor them for once and took the first genuine nap he had for weeks. 

Then it all went to hell in a picnic basket. 

After the earthquake fiasco, he had opted to drag his brother to his car when the taller skeleton attempted to escort the Dreemurs home-- Tori can more than take care of herself and the human both, he knowsthat, he had seen it before. Then he had to drive Papyrus' car himself cause the other skeleton just wont stop pouting-- and by gods does he hate driving.

Their new house-- a three floor house which is frankly way too big for just the both of them, but Paps wanted it and they had more than enough money from all the gold they saved from the Underground, so who was he to deny him?-- sat at the outskirts of the forest surrounding Mt. Ebott. It had Eight bedrooms, two of which they had already taken for themselves and the other six made into guest rooms for when their friends decide to come over.Not to mention the hidden basement he found--

They had moved all the good furnitures they had from the Underground over since they had no reason to buy new ones when what they already had were still perfectly usable--Papyrus' words not his.

When they finally neared their house, the shorter skeleton just so happened to have spotted the mountain--which had just so happened to have cloned itself. Which just so happens to have helicopters and armed humans surrounding it.

Needless to say, he had never driven a car so fast in his long, suffering life.

Thankfully, Papyrus was too busy pouting in the back seat to notice all this-- though he did flail around in horror at the speed when the current driver hightailed it out. 

Sans had driven them back to the other direction, heading over to Tori and Frisk's, only to be informed that both the boss monster and Frisk was called in regards to something about a "mountain falling from the sky"? 

They had ended up having a sleep over-- to the cinnamon roll's delight-- in the guise of looking after the house while Tori and the kid were away.

The week passed from there, and he could still not decide if it went frighteningly fast or torturously slow. He barely had time to rest, to sleep as his job seemed to have steadily gone much harder than before. 

Apparently, there were these new monsters-- copies of the ones that appeared several years ago-- that came from that other mountain-- which actually did come from the freaking sky! 

They'd say it was a gift from heaven-- the superstitious ones, that is-- if it weren't for their rather violent tendencies. And because of this, some doltish humans got it in their head to form a cult thing to exterminate the "threat", completely ignoring the fact that these monsters were trying to hold off said violent propensities and seemed to be trying their absolute best to act docile. 

He rarely even get any sleep nowadays, these new problems just had to pop up and shove itself into his face, didn't it?

Not to mention last night... 

Long story short, said moronic humans decided to attempt their usual deed way too close to Papyrus' precious bakery.

Originally, Sans had wanted to leave this particular group to the police-- they weren't a particularly big group of ne'er-do-wells and they weren't exactly thorough at keeping their tracks covered-- but he felt dangerously threatened by this; good or not, these were still humans they were dealing with, and he had never forgotten just what a single human can do with a simple knife and the right amount of intent.

He struck.

What he didn't mean to do, however, is to take another life. He was just supposed to sneak in to their oh-so-very-well-hidden hiding quarters-- an old abandoned building, deep in the slums-- and mess with their files, maybe take some back to the police to quicken the operation.

Thing is, he was weary and distracted-- he didn't get to sleep the other night, nor the night before that-- and that made him sloppy. 

He got spotted.

He didn't really have a choice at that point, the guy was staring right at him as he froze, just as he was about to hop out the window. 

He didn't have a choice, so he pulled the man with him before jumpig out the window. He acted fast, moving to rip the guy's clothes for something to gag him with. Poor bloke never got a chance.

The guy was too shocked to move, snapping out of it a moment too late as he was gagged and, next thing he knew, they went flying out the widow. Said window being on the thirty seventh floor of the building. He couldn't even shout in fear.

Sans steeled himself, ignoring the painfully empty feeling in his SOUL, needlessly telling himself that the did not enjoy this, not one bit. He didn't say he disliked it either.

He threw the man down before taking a shortcut with a flash of blue, reappearing a few buidings away, completely hidden from prying eyes.

His mind went blank.

A wet *SPLAT!!!*-- a thud on the ground.

The crackling sound of bones, breaking--

*SPLATTER*, red on the wall-- on the floor-- 

Red--

R E D--

Sans shot up from his place on the couch, eye sockets wide in panic, eyelights shaky and blurred. His breathing was labored, magic pulsing rapidly as he tried to calm down. 

It was a dream. A memory. 

He had unintentionally fallen asleep while lost in his thoughts. He must've been more exhausted than he thought he was.

For what felt like the tenth time that day, he sighed, plopping back down on to the couch before cheking the time.

He saw that it was about time for lunch, so he decided to check in at Grillby's. People had been worrying about him lately, probably because he looks as bad as he feels, and kept shooting him concerned stares whenever they think he wasn't looking. Grillby, in particular, seemed about ready to jump at him the last time he saw him-- which was about three days ago-- so maybe a visit would ease his concerns. 

Happy with his decision, Sans nodded to himself and smiled. 

The skeleton stood up, swaying a bit from the lead dragging at his bones. Man, when was the last time he had eaten again?

Taking one last look around, scanning every nook and cranny of their homey living room, he finally deemed it safe and took a shortcut, popping up at a secluded alleyway several blocks away from Grillbz' new bar.

The walk to the bar was peaceful and calming with the numbing bustle of activity all around him.

He finally reached the bar, smile unconciously softer as he gripped the door handle, anticipating the usual warm welcome.

He opened the door... only to be met with silence as all the other customers seemed to be staring at something at the booth...

Or rather, someone.

Sans stared at the fell monster, seemingly in shock at his own luck.

Said monster was garbed in black; a black jacket with yellow furr at the hood, black shoes, and black shorts like his own, only the supposed-to-be white stripes are colored yellow instead.

On second glance, the monster just so happens to be of the skeletal variety.

Face blank and just so done with it all, Sans got ready to nope it out of there.

"Hey, look, it's Sans!" A voice shouted out from a corner.

Sans stood there, just not giving a single f-- just not caring anymore as more and more people noticed him.

For some reason, the warm greeting had lost it's appeal.

Sans was just about to make an excuse, when he caught sight of the bartender. Grillby looked beyond worried as he took in the Sans' appearance, tense, ready to jump over the booth if need be.

Sans sighed.

The skeleton in blue strode forward, wearing his usual smile, heading for his usual seat. Which is situated right next to where the black clad skeleton sat.

Sans sat there anyways, too tired to care, weariness clouding his mind.

He desided to ignore the other skeleton as he ordered his usual, looking over to the newly installed TV.

Another thing that changed, aside from the now-working juke box, were the new installations in Grillby's new bar. 

Originally, the bartender wanted to merely recreate his old bar. Then he learned about how easy it is to get a juke box fixed now that they were on the surface. From there, the bar was upgraded to new lights, new windows, and more tables, to a brand new TV installed on the wall by the juke box.

Sans sighed once more, seeing as the channel was currently on news, and resigned himself to what looks to be a s***y day.


	4. Chapter 3

Red turned slightly as the bar's occupants started greeting 'Sans'. Damn but it was weird to hear people call out his name like that without actually directing it at him. He leaned an elbow on the counter and rested his jaw on his hand, turning to get a better look at his native counter part as he lazily took a swing from his mustard bottle. 

The guy looked tired. Tired and moderately pissed off. Or at least annoyed. He was hiding it pretty well, but Red could read those expressions like a book. It was his own face, afterall, 'sans' the fangs. His grin spread a little further. He wasn't sure why, but that sour expression on someone else was seriously amusing.

"Hey there, pal." He greeted in what would have been a genial manner if not for the way his eyes glinted with wicked amusement. "What crawled up yer pelvis n' died?"

 

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Sans tensed ever so slightly, feeling eyes staring at the back of his skull. He forced himself to calm, but remained wary despite reminding himself that these new monsters meant no harm.

He rested his arm on the booth, leaning on it as his apparent weariness threatened to fell his bones.

The news was currently showing a censored picture of a recent car crash by the highway, other than that, it wasn't anything worth noting. Well, yet anyways.

He quickly got disinterested and instead, watched as Grillby moved over to the back, no doubt going to get the food he ordered.

He was promptly startled when he heard what sounded like a voice similar to his. Looking over, he fought the urge to grimace when he saw the sharper skeleton looking at him with a smirk.

Looking around confirmed that, indeed, there was no one else around that the other could be addressing. 

With a long-suffering sigh, he found himself yet again, accepting what seems to be an undesirable fate.

Keeping a neutral facade, he answered."hello to you too, chum . no offence, but i don't see how that's any o' ya business." He felt his grin twitch. Man, he really needed that grub if his front started cracking this early in the day. "since ya heven't even introduced yerself. y'know, like the polite way of greetin' someone ya'ven't even met."

He was hoping for this to be a relatively short day, but unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

Red snickered. Oh this guy was fun. "Heh heh. Sorry. Didn't mean ta butt in 'sans' introduction."

He set his mustard down then slowly offered his hand. "name's Sans. Sans the skeleton. But m'pretty sure ya a'ready knew that. Put 'er there, pal." He wondered if this other him would notice the joy buzzer in his palm or if he'd be too tired to. Or maybe he just wouldn't be expecting this sort of thing from someone else. Red wondered if Sans had any jokes literally up his sleeve.

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

Another sigh. Just as he suspected.

Sans was getting real tired of these "series of unfortuate events" life apparently like to dump at him on a whim.

Moving to take the other's hand, he barely spotted the tiny contraption hiding in the copy's bony palm.

'Really, now?' He inwardly grinned. 'Two can play at that game.'

Hiding his pause, he used his magic to discreetly transport his favored whoopie cushion, one of his smaller ones because it is easier to hide and has a rather distinct sound, from his secret ketchup stash-- a hidden inner pocket of his jacket he decided to put there when Papyrus started limiting his ketchup intake-- under his ready palm, just as his hand reached the other skeleton's.

For the first time in what seemed to be a long while, he grinned, amusement sparkling in his eyelights. "heya sans, i'm sans. gotta say, i never really expected to ever meet, well, myself face-to-face-- aside from mirrors, of course."

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

He was watching for it, so of course he noticed when the other Sans slipped something discreetly into his palm. Of course, he wasn't one to pass up an opportunity for a good joke. Their hands met and Red curled his fingers around the smoother bones of his alternate. The electric shock of his buzzer was absorbed by the rubber of the woopie cushion. 

PPPBBBBBBBBTTTTTTTTTTTttttttt......

"Heh. I see ya ain't just blowin smoke out yer a**." He shook Sans' hand once up then down before he pulled back. "Can't say I really expected this day ta come either, but m'glad ta see my funny bone is a universal constant." He chuckled reaching once more for his bottle of mustard.

 

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Sans felt himself go lax as the other skeleton laughed.

Giving a short chuckle himself, he retracted his hand and placed it on the counter alongside his other arm. "same here, bud."

He raised an eyebrow when he saw the other grab a bottle of mustard. Seems the similarities are more limited than he thought after all. Then again... who was he to judge?

Catching a glimpse of the "fire exit" door opening, he watched with anticipation as Grillbz came back with a tray in hand. The less edgy-looking skeleton's magic let his hunger show, SOUL almost visibly quivering for sustenance as the tray was placed in front of him along with a bottle of ketchup. On the tray was a large plate of the greasiest burger in the bar, the smell of it making his mouth water, his tongue unconciously forming in his mouth.

Without further ado, he dug right in with almost-desperate vigor.

He was halfway throught his meal, when he started to slow down as the food started to take effect, his magic finally ceasing its insistent nagging.

Now eating at a more leisurely pace, he regarded the other skeleton for a moment, then decided to speak his mind.

"hey, uh. y'know what?" Sans started, placing his food down for a second as he though over his words carefully. "now that i think about it, t'would be real confusing real quick if we stuck to calling each other "sans", 'specially if ya decided to stay 'round here."

He paused momentarily, taking his time to chew at another mouthful of his burger before continuing. 

"so, howzabout a nickname? whaddaya say?"

 

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He couldn't help raising a brow ridge at the way the other Sans tore into his burger the moment he'd gotten it. Sure, it wasn't a bad burger, he'd put his own away in short order after all, but it wasn't like someone was going to take it from him or something, right? Was he not eating right or something? Well. Not like he cared too overly much. He filed the information away for later anyway.

At the suggestion of a nickname, he let a socket fall closed in a lazy wink. He responded with the most sugary sweet tone he could manage. "Aw, sweetheart. Ya wanna give me a pet name a'ready? Movin a little fast there, ain't'cha? What kinda monster d'ya take me fer?"

 

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Hearing that saccharine tone, Sans rolled his eyelights. Dropping the mangled burger on to a puddle of grease on his plate with a small splash, he turned to face the other with what served to be his eyebrow raised. 

That forced, sickly sweet voice does not fit the sharper skeleton, he decided.

"... not the kind of monster you have in mind, that's for sure." He answered in deadpan, sipping from his ketchup bottle almost daintily. "but of course, if ya want me to go first, who am i to deny?"

He mockingly winked."red."

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

The newly dubbed 'Red' snickered. "What? Ya take namin tips from yer king or somethin? Red? that's the best ya got?" He set his bottle down, still trying to contain his laughter. It was about empty anyway. "An' here i thought I was 'red'y fer anythin ya threw at me. 'Color' me surprised. heh heh."

He ran his eye lights over the other sans appraisingly, taking in the fading blue glow behind blunt teeth. "heh. S'pose that'd make you, Blue? If we were stickin ta yer already established shitty namin conventions."

 

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'Blue, huh?'

Sans snorted. As annoying as his supposed alternate was, at least he has a tasteful sense of humor. He secretly grinned. For him, that is.

'Can't see anything going wrong with that.'

He smiled ever so slightly, using his magic to move the whoopie cushion still in his palm as he used the other hand to toss what remains of his burger into his mouth, grease and all.

As the whoopie cushion floated out from his pocket, his smile fell as he caught sight of the blue magic surrounding the rubber toy.

'Oh, right...'

He paused momentarily, almost unnoticeably, before stuffing it down his jacket and back to the inner pocket.

'I can, actually.' He took his time downing half of his ketchup, thinking of a way out of this situation. 'Lotsa things, in fact...'

"No." He gave a miniscule flinch at the unintended hardness in his voice. 

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. "... comic."

Taking another swig of ketchup, Sans glanced at the other skeleton at the corner of his eyes. "call me comic."


	5. Chapter 4

For a moment Red tensed at that firm tone, accustomed to things going very south very quick when a mood changed like that. A beat passed. Sans took a breath. And then the hard edges smoothed from the air. 'Comic' chose his own name and Red let himself take a breath too.

Red smirked, a little sharper after that little jolt to his nerves, and leaned on the bar. He scoffed. "Comic? Heh. I dunno. Far as I've seen, ya ain't that much of a funnybones." Then something on the news caught his attention. It was a breaking story. That group of radical moster racists that had been forming had been attacked, revealing one of their until now hidden bases of operations. At least one body had been found. It could have been passed off as an accident, except for the fact that there had been a photo.

It was grainy. Barely discernable as anything more than a blur of dark color. The figure in the photo was going down with the victim, but there was the distinct glow of blue magic coating the figure. A second picture was shown where the figure was absent from the frame, just after the body had hit the ground. 

The news reporter went on to theorize that the murder was the work of this 'unknown, costumed, monster vigilante'. There was a gasp from behind the bar, the flaming bartender whispering a name that the whole bar seemed to recognize as a clamor started to spread. 'Wisp.'

That was this universe's local legend, wasn't it? His eye lights sparked faintly as he directed them back at Comic, his grin twitching into a smirk.

"Heh. Or maybe ya mean somethin more along the lines of a 'comic' book? Huh, Mr. Vigilante?"

 

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The newly dubbed Comic was just about to say something about that "funnybone" comment, only to hear the sound of glass dropping.

He startled and looked over to where the noise came from, only to see Grillby, frozen in seemingly shock and awe. A clean white towel hung from the bartender's hand, which was pressumably used to clean the glass he dropped just a few moments ago.

The next thing he noticed was the sudden hush in the bar, looking around only to see everyone else staring intently at something. 

Then he heard it. He was almost scared to look, surely his luck couldn't possibly be this bad? Nevertheless, he looked anyways. And watched as one of his greatest fears came to life, right before his eyes.

He had been spotted. 

He sat there, frozen in shock as the silence was suddenly filled with hushed murmurs and excited, curious, fearfulsounds of people talking, not hearing a single word of it over his raging thoughts.

'How could this be...?' He asked himself, not once looking away from his image on the screen. 

After several years of careful planning. Several years of work, just to keep himself hidden. 

And it all came down the drain with a simple mistake.

He had grown too accustomed to this world beyond the war, he realized. He had been careless! Making mistakes he never would have made long ago.

And now, it had costed him dearly.

His eyesockets narrowed, white pinpricks shining with sudden clarity. 'Well not anymore.'

He finnished his ketchup, not caring about how painfully forced his grin had gotten, nor for the confused, worried looks Grillby kept shooting him.

'Never again. '

He froze, once more as he heard Red's comment. He didn't even want to know if Grillby heard that and if he did, Comic didn't want to see the look on his face.

Grin sharp, eyeligbts glowing dangerously bright, he turned and regarded the other.

"Oh no, Mr. Red. You seem to have misheard me." 

Resting his elbows on his legs, Comic leaned forward, now facing the other skeleton completely.

'Careful now, Red.' His grin grew impossibly wide, giving him a deranged look only meant to be seen by Red. 'Yer walkin' on thin ice here, bud. Best to consider your steps, lest you make a wrong move and fall into the deadly, cold waters below.'

"Let me say it again for you." The rest of the bar faded to black, shoved to the back of Comic's mind as he stared intently at the other's own eyelights. "You can call me Comic. Did you hear me now or do you need me to call someone for your hearing problems?"

 

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Ok. /That/ was definitely a threat. He let his magic stir just beneath the surface, ready to jump to his call if he so needed it. He turned to more fully face his alternate, his smile never wavering. "Oh I hear ya just fine, Sweetheart." He leaned forward just slightly. Comic was trying to keep this a secret. He was trying to threaten Red into silence and he just couldn't help the stab of sharm amusement that rolled through his soul at the thought. Especially since Red seemed to be the /only one/ who /knew/.

"I think you n' me're gonna have a /great time/." Then he got up, and he walked away, throwing a knowing smirk over his shoulder at his alternate as he did so. There was nothing Sans could do here. Not without raising suspicion. Oh Red was going to have fun with this. The moment he was outside and away from prying eyes he took a shortcut home.

Back in the bar, Grillby stood staring still at the tv screen. He hadn't seen Wisp in hundreds of years. Not since the war. Not since a single, specific moment when the legend had saved his life. As far as Grillby knew, he was one of the very, very few who had seen him. He hadn't seen the monster's face, didn't know his true name, but he knew that outfit. he knew that magic. It was unmistakeable. He hadn't meant to throw his bar into chaos with his revelation, but now it seemed everyone within earshot knew what he'd just recognized.

His flames flickered uneasily. as he turned away from the Tv, he noticed the darker version of his good friend had left. Only sans remained... and he looked troubled... He'd looked troubled for a while now, but this seemed to be something different. Concerned, he approached the small skeleton and laid a warm hand on a rigid shoulder. "Sans?"

 

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Comic's face twitched in annoyance at the other's words. The gall of that guy...

Shaking his head, he turned back to the booth and placed his arms on it, bowing his head.

Everything seems to be going so bad lately. So bad for him, that is. He sighed. He didn't have time for this. He's tired, he's barely even full and he needs to be on full strength if he wants to face anymore of this abuse from reality. Not that he actually wants to, but it's not like he really had a choice either.

Lowering his head, he heard the thud of his skull against hard, polished wood. This whole thing's a mess.

The skeleton closed his eyes at the rapidly accumulating headache. Everything's a mess right now... 

He was so lost in thought, he didn't even hear the bartender drawing closer, until he felt a warm weight on his shoulder.

Comic startled, jumping a few inches in his seat as his head shot up to stare straight at that heavy gaze of the fire elemental.

He scrambled to get his bearings, struggling to get a semblance of control on his emotions as he forced on his usual smile.

"uh, heeey, grillbz." Sans started, trying and barely succeeding to hide the panic in his voice."ya need anything?"

 

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Grillby's flames flickered with further concern at that nervous tone. He leaned in a little more so his soft, hissing voice wouldn't be lost to the current excited din of his bar. "Are you ok, Sans?..." He paused, glancing at the empty seat next to his friend where a darker, sharper version of him had been seated not long ago. He frowned a little, before looking back to Sans. "Did... That other monster say something?..." He couldn't be sure, but it was the only thing he had to go on right now.

 

₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩

 

 

"uh... huh?" Sans was confused for a moment, mind too chaotic to think very clearly over the wailing panic. 

It took him a few short seconds to realize what Grillby meant, but by then he was berating himself cause that was totally not suspicious, not at all, no.

The sarcasm somehow let him settly his thoughts just enough to find a proper response."uh, no! no. uh, who are we talking about again?"

He couldn't seem to meet the bartender's eyes, his smile painfully tense. Blue-tinted drops of sweat started dotting his skull as he tried his best to shrink into his jacket.

 

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Grillby only grew more concerned as the conversation went on. If it could even be called a conversation... the fact that Sans either didn't recall the monster who'd been sitting next to him, or refused to acknowledge said monster, made things even more tense. It was frustrating. It was fairly obvious that Sans wasn't about to confide in Grillby. The raucous environment likely didn't help.

He sighed. "Perhaps you should go home... You seem... Tired..." His flames flickered gently. He wouldn't push sans for answers. He just wanted his friend to feel better. "Your meal is on the house today... Just this once." And whenever else Sans seemed to need it. Not that Grillby thought Sans ever had any intention of paying off his tab. it was the thought that counted here.

 

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When Grillby started looking even more worried, Sans started shouting curses in his head. 

He didn't know what he expected, he knew he wasn't a very good actor when he's tired-- why was he still even here!?

Comic sat there, straight as a plank, staring forward with a painfully big smile. 

'That's it.' He thought. 'I'm gone. He's gonna find out. After years of scheming, careful planning, and someone's finally gonna know cause of my own stupid life decisions!

Why did he even think that going out in his condition was okay?

Comic was one word away from hyperventilating when Grillby's words registered, then he practically melted in relief. 

His raging thoughts promptly dissapeared, leaving his head feeling unnervingly empty and his SOUL with numbing static.

"uh." The skeleton winced, clearing his throat before trying again, "i-i mean-- yyyeah! g-good idea, grillbz. i-i'ma-i'ma do that."

Nodding to himself, Comic turned and hopped off his seat, taking a moment to steady himself on shaky legs."thanks a lot, pal. i owe ya one." His smile softened as he started towards the door. "guess i just wasn't feeling so hot, huh?"

Satisfied, he walked out the door and rushed over to his usual alley, sticking to the shadows by habit. 

His mind was blank the whole time, head lowered as he put up his hood and shoved his hands in his jacket pocket.

For the first time since arriving at the surface, the walk did nothing to ease his troubled SOUL.


End file.
